Roomware: Computers disappear and interaction evolves

When engaging in brainstorming, strategic planning, and decision making, many people still use traditional media such as felt pens on whiteboards. Apparently, interacting with real physical objects feels easier than operating and interacting with computer monitors in these situations. Unfortunately, the information generated during such meetings cannot be captured immediately for digital postprocessing and can easily be lost altogether. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute in Darmstadt seek to design environments that combine the affordances of real objects with computer-based support's potential in the virtual world. This combination generates hybrid worlds that have significant consequences for the design of human-computer interaction.